HCPC23
is the 23rd episode of the season Happiness Charge Pretty Cure! and is also the 509th episode of the Pretty Cure franchise overall. Synopsis In hopes of strengthening their bond and the power of their team, Hime and Iona go on a shopping trip together. '' Summary Queen Mirage appears before a defeated Phantom and the Cures. She fires a powerful blast of dark energy from her staff when Blue intervenes. He and Megumi speak of love, happiness and courage to get her to stop, but agitated from this she attacks them again and the mirror starts to crack. Blue teleports everybody to the Cross Mirror Room before the attack can connect. Back at the Phantom Empire, Mirage slaps Phantom and scolds him for battling the Cures without her permission. However, she decides to spare his life for the time being due to his usefulness. Everyone returns to the Embassy, where Iona gives Blue her sisters transformation device as she explains what happened. Blue does not sound surprised, but Glasan feels horrible for keeping it such a secret for so long. She explains that she did it because she couldn't bare to face Blue afterwards and admit what happened- but he assures her that it is fine because she's been working very hard. Megumi takes another chance to invite Iona into the team, but once again she rejects. But ths time she says it's because she feels like she would ruin their teamwork, and she is sure Hime feels the same way. In hopes of getting her to reconsider, Ribbon insists they avoid serious talk for now and have a party for the group instead. While Megumi and Yuko agree, Iona doesn't want them to put them out but they insist, changing into Patisseries with the PreCards. Megumi plans to make a special fruit cake until Yuko points out they're out of fruit. Ribbon also points out that they were so occupied lately they didn't have the time to go and shop; so they simply can't do much else at the time and someone will need to go shopping. As this is going on, things remain tense with Hime and Iona as they reside in the other room. They are unsure of what to say and avoid each other until Ribbon returns, calling for Hime to ask her to go to the store with her. Glasan volunteers herself and Iona as well, saying they can't enjoy a party if they didn't do any work. Iona agrees and Ribbon decides to let them go, telling them what they need before Iona asks Hime to join her, as she will need help carrying everything. Hime remains apprehensive as the girls walk through town, unsure of what to say as she silently frets- until Iona notices. She asks Hime why she goes by ''Shirayuki Hime, rather than her full name, and Hime explains that it's just too long. She also really likes Snow White, so she gave herself an alias while there. As they continue to walk she tries to start a topic of discussion but struggles, so Ribbon helps by asking what kind of person Cure Tender was. Glasan answers that she was the best Pretty Cure ever; she had a strong heart and did what she could to help others, and even when she wasn't a Cure she was a smart and fashionable girl with a lot of talent. For a moment Iona lightens up, but she is quick to snap out of it as she recalls they need to get to the store. Inside, Hime explains how often she comes here to do her shopping when Iona suggests they head to the supermarket, where she usually goes due to the big sale going on. They would be able to save a lot of money due to all of the bargains, and she even brought coupons with her so they can stock up on more. Hime agrees and is fairly impressed by this when they finish, and as they prepare to leave she stops abruptly upon spotting a package of Pretty Cure Candy. Iona tells her that she doesn't need it, so she shouldn't waste the money- but Hime reasons that it should be fine because they saved a lot of money anyway. Iona intimidates Hime into backing off until she is accused of being a scrooge, which causes her to get angry and claim that she is being smart by only purchasing what she needs and is careful enough to always have money on hand. But Hime insults her by claiming that to be boring, so eventually Iona gives in -but only lets her buy one- under the conditions that she not tell the others. At the Phantom Empire, an annoyed Hosshiwa watches as she notices all of the crystals littering the land. She is very angry about it, because filling the world with snacks is a lot better in her opinion. Outside Hime enjoys the snacks and excitedly looks to realize she got the special, rare card of the Bomber Girls Cures. But Iona changes the subject by asking her what caused her to open Axia to begin with. At first Hime is a little surprised, but she sits down and begins to explain that it was a tradition to pray to Axia. But one day a voice was heard from within it, one pleading to be let out. It sounded sad and she thought she was saving it, unaware that it was just a trick being played on her. She hadn't meant to put the world into despair. Iona asks Hime why she never told her before, but she claims that she did ''try to. Iona just never let her. Overcome with shock as it dons on her that Hime wasn't lying, Iona quickly separates from her. She feels terrible as she remembers all of the blame she gave her as she wallowed in her own pain, and back then she never once thought about how badly Hime felt for it all. Glasan suggests to her that because they already apologized to each other she should just make a truce with Hime and be her friend. Iona agrees and begins to feel better, but before she can return they see the work of Hosshiwa nearby as things begin to change into cakes and other sweets. She transforms and heads over to Hosshiwa, the Choiarks, and the Saiark are, and a fight begins. She uses Fortune Star Burst to separate the Choiarks and send everything flying, but they continue to fight against her. Glasan suggests she performs another Starburst attack but before she can, a mysterious Choiark - a really tiny Saiark- manages to catch her off guard. Suddenly, Cure Princess intervenes with Princess Bomber and she lands before Fortune. Ribbon apologizes for keeping them waiting and the Cures exchange a few words before Princess transforms into Macadamia Hula and uses her ability to make all of the enemies dance with her. Then, Fortune uses her own form change to become Pine Arabian. Using Oriental Dream on everyone, she brings out her Fortune Tambourine to use Starlight Ascension to rid of all the Choiarks and Saiarks and change everything back to normal. A sleepy Hosshiwa snaps out of her daze from the attack and quickly claims that she only fell asleep due to being inable to lately, then runs away. Fortune thanks Princess for saving her back there and the girls share a moment of congratulations before Cure Lovely and Cure Honey suddenly join in to help. But in the middle of their posing- Princess bluntly informs them that they arrived too late. As everyone heads back for the Embassy, Hime and Iona discuss what had gone on prior to Megumi and Yuko's arrival, then Hime asks that Iona call her by her alias name. Iona hesitates until Hime addresses her by name, and she agrees. Megumi hands over a Cure Line to Iona and explains how Blue asked her to deliver it, and once again they ask Iona to join their team. She considers refusing until Hime forces her to just agree- knowing she wants to. When Iona does, they gain two new PreCards as Megumi and Yuko go on to ask that Iona call them by name too. She tries it out and Hime quickly interrupts, expressing the desire to return to the embassy as she is hungry. There the girls all enjoy the special cake and they welcome Iona into their Pretty Cure team. Major Events *Queen Mirage attacks the Cures for the first time, but Blue shows up and teleports them away before anything serious happens. *Iona and Hime now permanently start to form a friendship. *Hime reveals that the reason she opened Axia was because of a voice coming from it pleading to be released. *Cure Fortune changes into her Pine Arabian form and uses Oriental Dream for the first time. *Iona officially joins the group. Characters Pretty Cures *Aino Megumi/Cure Lovely *Shirayuki Hime/Cure Princess *Omori Yuko/Cure Honey *Hikawa Iona/Cure Fortune *Cure Bloom (in the opening only) *Cure Tender (flashback) Mascots *Ribbon *Glasan Villains *Phantom *Saiarks *Choiarks *Queen Mirage *Hosshiwa Secondary Characters *Blue *International Pretty Cures (on the package in the store) Trivia *Cure Bloom gives the congratulatory message for this episode. *Cure Fortune joins the title screen, but she is seen with a PreChanMirror. *'PreCards debuted:' Patissiere and Pine Arabian cards. *When Hime looks at the Pretty Cure bag, the orange Wonderful Net Pretty Cure has one sleeve missing. *Before the camera gets close to Hime's mouth, the left (right in viewer perspective) of her dress becomes the same color as her belt. *Like in episode 25 of ''Yes! Pretty Cure 5, to Cures of contrasting opinions go shopping. *This is the first time that the Cures look like they transformed without the usual sequence. Cure Princess, and later Lovely and Honey, say their speeches and strike their finishing poses in real time, without the actual transformation being shown. Gallery Category:Happiness Charge Pretty Cure! Category:Happiness Charge Pretty Cure! episodes Category:Episodes